Scooby a very cheeky rabbit visited us recently due to a sore leg. Scooby had to have an X-ray on his leg to see if there was any obvious broken bones or fractures. X-raying a rabbit can be very challenging due to their size, and easily stressed nature. X-rays are like light except they can travel through the body. For an x-ray a rabbit will lies under the x-ray machine which sends a beam of x-rays through the rabbit’s body onto a photographic plate. When the film is develope

Meet Rosie who recently decided to start a fight with some chickens! Rosie came off worse for wear when a piece of hay became embedded in her eye causing an ulcer. Rosie had a dye called fluorescein placed into her eye the dye sticks to the damaged areas of the eye and shows how far the corneal ulcer extends, by highlighting luminous green under a florescent blue light. Cats have better night vision than us humans but the basic structure is much the same. Because the eye is

Millie visited the surgery for some further investigations and tests which included having her blood pressure monitored and a urinalysis, taking the blood pressure reading off a cat is very challenging but Millie was the purfect patient. Measuring blood pressure usually takes only a few minutes, and involves placing an inflatable cuff around a leg or the tail (much the same as the cuff used on the arm in humans). It is completely pain-free. A urine sample is collect using spe

❄️Small pets winter guide.❄️ Meet Burt a skinny pig, Skinny pigs can not be found in the wild. “skinnies” don't have any fur, except on their noises and a little on their feet, they must be kept indoors in a warm environment. Due to the fact they don't have fur which naturally keeps them warm when the weather is cold, skinnies are prone to catching cold or even hypothermia very easily. If your rabbits, guinea pigs or ferrets live outside, you can make their winter a bit more

Meet Nelly a Dwarf Hamster who visited the surgery due to a sore back leg. Nelly needed to have an X-ray to see if there was any damage to her bones, we would usually sedate or give patients a general anesthetic to position them for X-ray Nelly was far to small for this. A cardboard tube was used to place tilly in and wrapped around her so she could not move allowing us to x-ray her. Nelly was very brave and no broken bones were found Nelly is now home recovering well. Did yo

On Saturday we met Clover for the first time. Clovers owners brought her to see us as she had what looked like a small would on the inside of her leg, Clover was admitted so we could examine the wound more thoroughly. Once Clover was under anaesthetic we could see a large wound that would need stitching, the cut was very deep and had cut through the medial thigh muscle and there was lots of hair tracking into the deep fascia so a drain was placed to drain infection from the s

Jaz came to visit us due to a very swollen ear. The ear had filled with blood causing an aural hematoma. An aural hematoma is a clot of blood that collects between the skin and the cartilage of a pet’s ear flap. It’s typically caused by overly aggressive ear scratching or head shaking that results from an ear infection. Dogs and cats can both suffer ear hematomas, though dogs (particularly those prone to skin allergies and ear infections) are more prone to them. Surgical rep

Enzo visited the surgery after suffering from intermittent lameness over a short period of time. Enzo has had extensive test including a CT scan of his leg. Enzo was diagnosed with a fractured medial coronoid process. This is a developmental defect of one of the coronoid processes, two small bony protrusions on the end of the ulna within the elbow joint. In this condition, one of the coronoid processes develops a fissure or crack and separates from the rest of the bone. Enzo

Naughty Frankie the Irish terrier managed to steal 180g of Chocolate. Chocolate poisoning affects the heart, central nervous system and kidneys. Symptoms of dogs eating chocolate usually occur between four and 24 hours after your dog has eaten chocolate. The effect and signs of chocolate poisoning in dogs depends on the amount eaten and the size of the breed. Freddie was given a drug to induce vomiting emptying his stomach contents, he was then fed activated charcoal. Activat

Lightning the ferret visited the surgery this week.. Female ferrets (jills) come into season (oestrus) in spring and summer (March to September) as the day length begins to increase. They will stay in season either until mated or until day length reduces again. During this time they are subject to high levels of the hormone oestrogen. This can suppress the production of red blood cells and lead to a life threatening anaemia. Female ferrets can die from the subsequent anaemia

A favourite past time for pets is chasing bees and wasps in the garden, Lily got a little more than she bargained for when the bee decided to chase her and sting her paw. If your pet is stung and starts to have difficulty breathing or showing signs of an allergic reaction like swelling, fitting excessive drooling call us Immediately. We can administer an injectable steroid or anti histamine medication to provide immediate relief (usually within about 30 minutes) and reduce th

Blu visited the surgery on Saturday after he ran into a fish tank, as fish tanks have sharp corners this made a deep wound on Blu. Wounds vary according to: Cause - puncture wounds, abrasions, or lacerations Location - paws, abdomen, eyes, etc. Level of contamination - clean (surgical) wounds, contaminated (infected) we consider all these factors when deciding the best way to treat a specific wound. Sometimes the location or the amount of skin loss prevents surgical closure o

Ariel the ferret recently visited us due to a lump growing on her back, after further investigation it was decided the lump must be removed due to the rapid rate of growth and ulceration. Ferrets have to be monitored very closely during an anaesthetic as they can develop hypothermia, heat pads and bubble wrap are used to help keep them warm during surgery. With any lump removal the veterinary surgeon must make sure they obtain good margins, Lumpectomy margins are the rim of n

Today is International Cat Day or World cat day, International Cat Day is a day to raise awareness for cats and learn about ways to help and protect them. #internationcatday #internationalcatday2020 #worlscatday #cat #cats #catlove #happycat #angrycat #kitten #catvet #tyldesleyvets #tyldesley #leighvet #vetsinleigh #leigh #athertonvet #atherton #worsleyvet #worsley #boothstownpet #boothstown #orthopaedicvet #advancedvet #petsfirst #affordbalevet

Bella visited us for intermittent lameness on her back leg, after an initial investigation of X-rays at our Adlington branch, Bella was diagnosed with medial patella luxation. Bella was than transferred to our Standish Orthopaedic site. Medial patella luxation is a condition where the patella (knee-cap) does not stay in its normal position in the groove on the end of the femur (thigh bone) and will pop-out, or luxate, to the medial (inside) surface of the knee.  For most cats

Otto got a little more adventure than he expected on his walk. Whilst on his daily walk Otto likes to have a leisurely swim in the local pond/lake, but on this occasion when he surfaced he had a fish hook stuck in his mouth. Due to the barbs on fish hooks, they can be difficult to remove without sedation, minor surgery, and pain medication. Considerable damage can also be caused if someone pulls on a fishing line after the hook has already become embedded in the animal, so we

Charlie came to see us with low platelets and a Pact Volume cell (PVC) of 17% (this tells us how much blood is in the body with the ideal range being 35%-55%). On a ultrasound a mass in the abdomen was detected and it was established Charlie would need to go into surgery immediately, but he would need to have a blood transfusion first . A call was made to the pet blood bank and we were able to source blood to be delivered the next day. Charlie had his blood transfusion and

We have been treating creatures of all sizes this week. Meet Yoshi a Rat who was in to be castrated. The General anaesthetic procedure for a rat is very different to a dog or cat, Yoshi was inducted in a chamber with Oxygen and aesthetic vapour. He was then removed from the chamber and maintained on a mask this allowed for improved airway control. The nurse has to continually check Yoshi vitals including colour of mucous membranes (particularly for abnormal pallor or darkness

I have lost my cat. What should I do? If you've lost your cat and they are already microchipped, the first thing you'll need to do is let the microchipping company know. Double-check with the database that your details are correct. If your lost cat is found and taken to a vet or animal welfare organisation, you'll be contacted. Don't forget! Make sure you keep your contact details up to date. If you move home or change any of your contact information, it's important to let yo